Has anyone switched from the iPhone?

[jw nyc]

Are there any iPhone users here who could give their thoughts on the Galaxy Nexus? I was an iPhone 4 user before buying the Galaxy S2 which I truly did not like. The GS2 screen was nowhere close to as crisp as the iPhone's retina display, the app store was very weak in comparison (even apps from the same company were much better on the iPhone), and there were way too many bugs in Gingerbread. I switched back to the iPhone when the 4S came out but I'm feeling the itch to give the Galaxy Nexus a shot.

It seems from early reviews that ICS is much smoother and has a much better UI than Gingerbread. The Galaxy Nexus also has an HD screen which should make the text much crisper than the GS2. I know the app store is still kinda shitty but I'm hoping with less fragmentation, developers put as much emphasis on their UI's and stability as they do for iOS.

So my question for previous iPhone users...how would you compare the two devices so far, do you have any regrets after switching, and are you happy with the Galaxy Nexus? Thanks.

 

[Thai]

How important is the camera to you?? That is going to be the biggest factor b/w the two phones. GN camera and video suck in anything except outdoor in the bright sunlight.

 

[49er]

My wife has the 4S and it's camera is amazing for sure. But I watched the comparison video on Android Central between the two, and holy cow does the IPhone screen look tiny compared to the Nexus......almost unusable tiny. I guess my question would be if you didn't like the GSII, why would you possibly like the Nexus? Unless the ppi of the screen is really what matters the most to you.....

 

[thebushyone]

I've just come from a 3GS and I'm finding the Nexus on the whole a lot better. The android market seems a real mine field compared to the apple one, it's just full of crap...........some good stuff but a lot of crap. Plus a large portion seems to be incompatible with ICS right now. As for ICS, I like what I see, though I am hitting bugs more often than I would like which I'm sure will get ironed out but I didn't have this problem with bugs upgrading my iPhone to 5.0. Oh, and the standard email app is crap. I need to sort out a new one that's ICS compatible. For me though I'm eagerly awaiting Flash for the browser, one of main reasons for changing plus I can't wait for Google Music!

 

[jw nyc]

I guess my question would be if you didn't like the GSII, why would you possibly like the Nexus? Unless the ppi of the screen is really what matters the most to you.....

Well screen resolution was a big one but also I expect ICS so provide a much better UI than Gingerbread (was also expecting fewer bugs but that doesn't seem to be the case). Also was expecting higher quality apps with less fragmentation but that's still TBD.

Camera is a big thing for me but not a deal breaker. Having a high quality phone camera is definitely a plus.

 

[Thai]

I've just come from a 3GS and I'm finding the Nexus on whole a lot better. The android market seems a real mine field compared to the apple one, it's just full of crap...........some good stuff but a lot of crap. Plus a large portion seem to be incompatible with ICS right now. As for ICS, I like what see, though I am hitting bugs more often than I would like which I'm sure will get ironed out but I didn't have this problem with bugs upgrading my iPhone to 5.0. Oh, and the standard email app is crap. I need to sort out new that's ICS compatible. For me though I'm eagerly awaiting Flash for the browser, one of main reasons for changing plus I can't wait for Google Music!

That's my problem with Google. My wife's Nexus S 4G works beautifully at times (super smooth)...but very buggy at other times, requiring a reboot every 2-3 days! Battery life is all over the place. My question is...if Google never sorted out the bugs on Gingerbread, then are we sure that they will do so with ICS? Why would they change now??!! It seems like Google is more into introducing new stuff instead of fixing what was broken on their old software!

And when it comes to their phones, Google has not even cared to fix their Nexus S phone issues. Wifi and 4G radios on the Nexus S phones are horrendously bad...no fix in the whole year that it is on the market. Well, they did send a fake "fix" update but it was more to kill the tethering instead of fixing the actual problem!!

Want to see how bad Wifi radio is on their previous Nexus: http://androidforums.com/nexus-s-4g/451791-nexus-wifi-comparison.html

And yeah, it is embarrassing when your Nexus S camera takes much worst pictures than the older (but same class) Samsung Vibrant!!

The problem with Flash is that it is outdated (slows down browser, buggy, & eats battery) and Adobe is going away from it....

 

[HomelessDepot]

Are there any iPhone users here who could give their thoughts on the Galaxy Nexus? I was an iPhone 4 user before buying the Galaxy S2 which I truly did not like. The GS2 screen was nowhere close to as crisp as the iPhone's retina display, the app store was very weak in comparison (even apps from the same company were much better on the iPhone), and there were way too many bugs in Gingerbread. I switched back to the iPhone when the 4S came out but I'm feeling the itch to give the Galaxy Nexus a shot.

It seems from early reviews that ICS is much smoother and has a much better UI than Gingerbread. The Galaxy Nexus also has an HD screen which should make the text much crisper than the GS2. I know the app store is still kinda shitty but I'm hoping with less fragmentation, developers put as much emphasis on their UI's and stability as they do for iOS.

So my question for previous iPhone users...how would you compare the two devices so far, do you have any regrets after switching, and are you happy with the Galaxy Nexus? Thanks.

We're treading into design-philosophy and marketing waters here -

The short version, I think, is that if you're looking for an iPhone experience, get an iPhone - don't wait around for Android to feel like iOS. Because it's not ever going to; the priorities are different, all the way from basic design and functionality through retail experience and target audience.

That's not to say Android won't improve - it has and will continue to evolve, and being a Nexus owner means you get to be a test platform for every major tweak and adjustment Google comes up with. But Android is fundamentally NOT iOS - it's never going to be standardized to the extent the iPhone is, the market will never be as tightly controlled or regulated, and it's never going to have a single hardware device that's objectively 'the best' for more than a few weeks at a time (and that's in a slow month...). And all of that is a good thing from many perspectives - but it's not necessarily positive advertising for people who just want an iPhone+... no Android device is going to provide that.

So far, the Galaxy Nexus seems to be a great way to experience all the benefits of state-of-the-art Android (and there are many) through an extremely snappy handheld with a high definition screen. Those are the selling points. The best advice is always the same - try it out (genuinely), if you find yourself unhappy, try something else.

-HD

Edit - If UI is the main area of concern, Android is a very dynamic, exciting place to be (OK, 'exciting' only if you're into that kind of thing ). If iOS is about refinement, Android design is about blowing things up and trying something new. It's like Paris vs Dubai.

Check out ::

http://www.androiduipatterns.com/2011/10/ice-cream-sandwich-how-does-it-affect.html

 

[jbarrack]

I've had an iPhone since day one in 2007. And much like you, I have also had Android phones here and there while owning all 4 iPhone and never seemed to like them and always went back to using the iPhone.

That being said. This time I will not be changing back to the iPhone. Everything I didn't like about how the Android phones functioned is fixed with ICS.

However, the biggest thing for me, as an iPhone user making the switch is the battery life. It's not that good, but it's certainly livable. Today I never touched the phone once it got off the charger at 630 am and by 1 pm I had 80% battery. The iPhone would have been around 94-96% sitting idle.

Power management seems to be the biggest factor. With the iPhone you can leave on WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS etc. on all the time and the power these functions use is minuscule. Leaving say GPS on with this phone would be disastrous as for some reason whenever the screen is turned on it wants to find your exact location.

Not at all a deal breaker and I am sure there are some setting which I can change to improve the battery life even more. But something to keep in mind.

Otherwise, it is hands down one of, if not the, best phone money can buy in my option.